cannabisnews.com: What's Next for Oregon's Marijuana Advocates

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  What's Next for Oregon's Marijuana Advocates

Posted by CN Staff on December 05, 2014 at 13:58:24 PT
By Anna Staver, Statesman Journal 
Source: Statesman Journal  

Oregon -- The campaign to legalize marijuana in Oregon didn't end on election night, when voters cast their ballots in favor of recreational use and sales. In fact, marijuana advocates have shifted their focus to what might be the more important task: shaping how the state implements Measure 91.The ballot initiative tasks the Oregon Liquor Control Commission with creating rules governing where and how marijuana can be grown, processed, sold, advertised, tested and taxed. And political action committees such as the Oregon Cannabis Growers hope to be at the forefront of that conversation.
The group has raised more than $87,000, according to online records from the secretary of state's office. And it's hired a team of lawyers and lobbyists — including local lobbyist Geoff Sugerman.One area the PAC plans to focus on in 2015 is introducing legislation to upgrade Oregon's Medical Marijuana Program."If we upgrade the marijuana program to provide licenses for growers, kitchens and processors so that it's harmonized with Measure 91, then I could see a very streamlined path to open the adult use market," Sugerman said.How does changing the medical program help recreational sales?Well, in Washington state license fees and size requirements for recreational marijuana farms pushed out a lot of the people who had been growing medical marijuana in the state for years.Sugerman suspected this contributed to the marijuana shortage and sky-high prices when Washington's dispensaries opened their doors."Eventually we will have large grows, but initially the people who have been growing marijuana legally in Oregon for the last 15 years should provide the base," Sugerman said.Medical marijuana growers aren't licensed in Oregon, but recreational growers will have to be, according to Measure 91.The PAC wants to essentially create the same licensing process for medical and recreational growers and processors so people can simultaneously participate in both systems.And Sugerman would like to pass a law that allows medical growers to sell their excess product to recreational processors and dispensaries."If you don't allow them to participate and there is still excess product, where is it going to go?" Sugerman said.Colorado allowed its medical facilities to opt into the recreational program, and that's something the PAC wants to do here in Oregon."If you have separate dispensaries, it's more likely that people are going to move into the recreational and adult use market because it's a much bigger and more lucrative market," Sugerman said. "Those patients would be left behind."The Silverton-based lobbyist also thinks lawmakers will spend a lot of time talking about marijuana taxes, testing and land use.Cities throughout Oregon — including Salem — have already passed local laws to tax recreational sales even though Measure 91 explicitly states that only the state has the authority to tax marijuana."I think there are many issues that are going to bubble up," Sugerman said. "We plan to be actively involved in many of them."Source: Statesman Journal (OR)Author: Anna Staver, Statesman JournalPublished: December 5, 2014Copyright: 2014 Statesman JournalContact: letters statesmanjournal.comURL: http://drugsense.org/url/ccpcOLzlWebsite: http://www.statesmanjournal.com/CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml 

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Comment #8 posted by Hope on December 09, 2014 at 10:57:48 PT
Fear and hatred...
Cannabis prohibition was contrived and stoked by it's creators and their followers with uncommon fervor. They worked people up to the point that some would vow to kill their own children if they dared smoke that kind of cigarette. People would turn their own family members and neighbors in to the government.... for their own good of course. Industries were spawned to carry out these killings and persecutions.There is some sort of spirit prevalent all too often in human kind. Well there are lots of spirits/attitudes among us. Some are so truly evil and there are some of these "spirits" that have proven to be especially destructive over the ages. Fear and hatred, obviously, run amok a lot. Greed is an ugly often deadly spirit. But the one that is maybe scariest of all is the iniquitous works of the self righteous. Widespread fervent self righteous warriors against some idea that can make people furious enough at others that they are willing to take the lives of others for the sake of their crusade. It was a terrible thing to do. 
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Comment #6 posted by afterburner on December 08, 2014 at 21:31:15 PT

Hope #4
The "fear and hatred" were built into Nixon's War On some Drugs from its beginning in 1970:Health Scientist Blacklisting and the Meaning of Marijuana in the Oval Office in the Early 1970s
http://cannabisandsocialpolicy.org/health-scientist-blacklisting-and-the-meaning-of-marijuana-in-the-oval-office-in-the-early-1970s-2/Click the phone for details.
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Comment #4 posted by Hope on December 08, 2014 at 12:34:49 PT

"Marijuana Advocates"
To me, that's a "Burn". A not so subtle swipe at our motives. A juvenile burn. I get so tired of that tactic of the prohibition lovers within news media. They are doing the old oblique, back handed smear with that advocate business, I think.We are advocates of you prohibitionists not hurting people over marijuana. It's so wrong for you to do that and to force the rest of us to finance and support your uncalled for and unnecessary fear and hatred.I do not advocate marijuana for anyone. That's everyone's personal business. What I do advocate is freedom from overbearing government and busybodies, and I advocate government stop hurting and killing people over this outrageous prohibition.
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Comment #3 posted by John Tyler on December 06, 2014 at 20:08:24 PT

Bubble-up II
I remember Bubble-up soda. It was like 7 Up as I recall. I have not seen or heard of it for a long time though.
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on December 06, 2014 at 12:55:33 PT

runruff
No I never heard of it.
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Comment #1 posted by runruff on December 05, 2014 at 20:43:53 PT

Bubble-up
Does anyone else remember Bubble-Up Soda?
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